Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
 A geeky winner! March 1, 2005
Meryl K. Evans (Plano, TX)
112 out of 117 found this review helpful
Make: Technology on Your Own Time is not a book... exactly. It's a mook, which is a hybrid of a magazine and a book. It's a magazine, but not a typical one. In my initial perusal, I think I wasn't high on it because I'm not into home projects because I don't have time.
I read it closely. Shortly, I became engaged and enjoyed reading the articles. Though I don't plan to make anything (like I'm going to put a monorail in my backyard-yes, this is a real project), the stories and the writing drew me in.
I like geeky things, but I'm not a geek in terms of building computers from scratch and hacking gadgets. These are the kinds of projects covered in the mook. The premiere issue includes the following projects: magnetic stripe card reader, camera on a kite, $14 video camera stabilizer or buy one, and a 5-in-1 network cable.
The quarterly mook has a Web site with things not covered in the print edition as well as a blog. Its design is clever with color codes on the cover and side for the major projects. The initial issue has 192 pages of quality paper and color printing to justify $8.74 an issue.
The mook has a homemade yet professional feel and has "home improvement" style fonts to add to its DIY (do-it-yourself) theme. The photos give the impression they're taken by average people and not photographers. They're good quality and complement the articles.
People who don't have time to build and like technology will find it an engrossing read thanks to the personable writing and instructions that don't make eyes glaze. Few new magazines make it past the first year or so. Make should thrive for years to come.
a geeky blend of all my favorite mags March 9, 2005
Christopher G. Williams
49 out of 54 found this review helpful
I just received the premiere issue of Make Magazine from O'Reilly yesterday. Let me just say this mag is a geek's dream come true. It's not a magazine about coding. Heck, I'm not sure if calling it a magazine is even accurate. It's more of a journal or zine (but with higher production values). A geek quarterly, if you will.
For example... the premiere issue features an article on aerial photography. Not geeky enough for you? Ok, how about aerial photography accomplished by rigging up a camera to a kite? Still not geeky enough? Throw in a homemade mechanism for triggering the shutter from the ground. The best part is, this isn't just an article full of theory. These guys DO this stuff. The article is full of pictures, plans and step by step instructions on how to make it happen.
That's not all... other How-To articles include: making a 5-in-1 network cable, making a magnetic stripe reader, XM Radio hacks, tips and tricks for your IPOD, gmail hacks, IPAQ hacks and a lot more. This puppy is just under 200 pages of D-I-Y technology.
Still not geeky enough? How about an article on how to make your own railgun, using magnets, a ruler and some steel bearings? There's also an article about hacking robotic dogs to sniff out toxic waste. This is geek goodness in all it's glory.
If you like reading 2600 (the hacker quarterly), Maximum PC and Scientific American, roll them all into one and you have Make (but without the attitude of Maximum PC and the leetspeak of 2600). I'm gonna subscribe!
No true geek should be without a subscription May 13, 2006
SirWired (Raleigh, NC United States)
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
This fine magazine is a cross between WIRED, American Woodworker, Popular Mechanics and Scientific American. Each issue features four very detailed DIY projects, along with short descriptions and general guides to a few others. Combined with the DIY info, there is the usual mix of opinion articles, political commentary, news summaries, letters, articles about crazy DIY-folk, etc.
The four "core" DIY projects in each issue include step-by-step instructions, full parts lists and extensive photos (or screenshots). All parts lists also include sources, which is important in an age where the parts department of Radio Shack just isn't what it used to be.
The projects featured in each issue are usually funky, weird, stuff that only a tiny fraction of the readers will actually build. As another reviewer said, most of the projects are simply not that useful. However, just because the projects aren't exactly useful doesn't mean they aren't cool. Will I ever build a timed cat feeder powered by a castoff VCR and a recycled hand-crank meat grinder? No. Do I think that the idea of recycling the motors and control circuits to do such a thing is neat? Of course, and any "real" geek would agree.
Most electronic projects assume basic soldering skills (an introduction to soldering is available in Vol 1), and most computer projects natrually involve more skill than just booting the machine.
Outside of the "core" projects in each issue, the "DIY" section features a bunch of abbreviated project summaries, with the expectation you will have to scrounge some of your own parts, and be able to read a schematic diagram. A geeky friend could probably help you out with those if you are in over your head.
Yes, this magazine is expensive. $34.95/yr for four issues sounds like a lot. However, the ads are far less intrusive than they would be in a cheaper magazine, the articles better written, and to make it suitable for use in an actual workshop, it is printed on sturdy bond paper and bound with a cardstock cover.
As with any magazine, some issues and some articles are better than others, but on the whole, the quality of the magazine is quite high.
Many have said that most of the tutorials in the magazine can be found on the web in various forms, scattered about. That is completely true. Nevertheless, it is convenient to have the information in a fairly well-tested magazine that has the added advantage of being on paper.
In summary, if the sort of topics covered in MAKE interest you, I know of no other magazine on the market that is better.
For Anyone Who Thinks Outside the Box November 20, 2005
Debra A. Shinkewicz
10 out of 12 found this review helpful
'Build a Light-Seeking Robot from an Old (Computer) Mouse' on the cover of V2 was the hook that drew me in. Now I find myself seriously considering the purchase of a soldering iron...
I have been a longtime subscriber to Scientific American and many years ago they ran a column called 'The Amateur Scientist' which discussed the physics behind everyday occurrences and offered many hands-on projects to explore the world of light, radiation, physics, etc. Now we have Make. Don't misunderstand me - this is not a science magazine, but it is an exploring and thinking magazine. Make will appeal to anyone who has ever hesitated to throw out old electronics or appliances because maybe there were parts they could reuse, or who ever took something apart out of curiosity to see what was inside. There are other perks as well - I found the 'Toolbox' section of the mag to be a great starting point for stocking stuffers.
Make magazine recaptures that 'knowledge for it's own sake' feeling. Each issue provides you with detailed and well-illustrated articles showing how people can adapt existing technology and products to new and different uses, or just make the existing product better.
With 3 jaded house cats, Mousey the Junkbot could be just what we need to shake things up around here.
Restoring Dignity and Nobility to the term March 14, 2005
Tony Bradley (Houston, TX)
13 out of 17 found this review helpful
O'Reilly Publishing has been on an almost solo crusade it seems to elevate the word "hacker" to its former dignity and nobility.
The media has co-opted the term and used it for any variety of malicious computer programmer or Internet malcontent. I myself am guilty of "mis-using" the term and have even written that the hacker purists should just get used to it (see What Is In A Name?.
But, the roots of hacking are more benign. Hacking is about being clever, not malicious. Pure hackers set out to be ingenious, not notorious. The O'Reilly Hacks series of books is devoted to this interpretation of hacking and now true hackers who just want to know how things work under the hood and tinker with them to create new inventions of their own have a magazine to help them.
The beginning contains a lot of newsy sort of tid bits that describe various hacking projects or hacker tales, but don't include the complete details. For example, there are a few photos and a brief rundown of the home monorail system Kim Pederson built in his backyard. Five years, $4,000 (USD), and 300 feet of track later his monorail glides around his backyard with ease.
The middle section provides a handful of full-fledged projects, complete with an inventory of the materials and tools necessary, full details for how to construct it and illustrations to guide you.
If you are interested in hacking and learning how to convert and modify gadgets and gizmos to do your bidding, check out this magazine. If you have done some of your own hacking projects already, contact the editor to see about publishing it in an upcoming edition of Make.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 19
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